Subject: Radio Internet Study
Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 13:30:34 -0500
From: Richard Sienko
Hello Everyone,
I attended a presentation by BBM to the Canadian Research Council concerning
a study BBM conducted into Internet usuage. There was some interesting
information on listening to radio on the internet and visiting radio web
sites.
Below are 3 pages of background information, basically an executive summary
of the report.
The presentation is approximately 40 pages in length and is available on the
BBM web site and you can obtain a copy by accessing their website.
Please see link
http://www.bbm.ca/Publications_Articles/Discovery_Series/Radio_Internet_Study__public_.pdf
Kindest Regards,
Dick Sienko
Background
Radio is, undergoing tremendous changes, which will bring about both
challenges and opportunities. The primary change in the market place in
which radio operates is the continued growth of the Internet. It is now
possible to listen to the radio over the Internet, to listen to a radio
station on the other side of the globe with the help of the Internet and to
visit a radio station’s website without ever having listened to that station
over the airwaves. If a radio station is to survive and prosper in this
changing environment more information is needed on how people are using the
Internet in conjunction with the radio industry.
Summary
1. Gender has virtually nothing to do with Internet habits.
2. The most important factor in determining radio and Internet habits is age.
3. Approximately one third of Canadian Internet users listened to Radio over
the Internet or visited a radio website.
4. Canadian and U.S. habits regarding radio and Internet use are similar.
5. People who have visited a radio station website behave differently and have
different attitudes than people who have never visited a radio station
website.
6. What people want most in a radio website is a website that is easy to
connect to and easy to navigate.
7. Most people recall a radio station talking about its website on the air.
Findings
1. Gender has virtually nothing to do with Internet habits.
An example of this point is the time periods both Males and Females spend on
the Internet; they are almost identical.
Males Females
6 a.m. - 10 a.m. 15% 13%
10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 19% 24%
3 p.m. - 7 p.m. 20% 20%
7 p.m. - Midnight 41% 39%
Midnight - 6 a.m. 2% 1%
This pattern is repeated in almost every category of Internet usage.
2. Age is the most important factor in determining radio and Internet habits.
No matter what aspect of Internet usage and radio listening was explored,
behaviour changed according to age. There tends to be a behavioral change
toward radio and the Internet at the age of 25 and again at 35.
For example, 63% of respondents under the age of 25 said they would
"frequently" or "sometimes" visit a radio station website to find titles and
artists of songs played on the radio. Only 27% of people over age 25 would
visit a website for that reason.
Many more people under age 35 (40%) have visited a radio station website
compared to people over age 35 (30%).
3. Approximately one third of Canadian Internet users listened to Radio over
the Internet and visited a radio website.
Overall 32% of Canadian Internet users have listened to radio over the
Internet.
We asked people whether they had first, tried to listen to radio over the
Internet and secondly, having tried were they successful in listening to the
radio over the Internet. 86% of those who had tried to listen to radio over
the Internet were successful. This is encouraging because it indicates that
listening to radio over the Internet is a very easy process. Approximately
40% of people under 35 and approximately 30% of people over 35 years of age
have visited a radio website.
Overall 34% of people have visited a radio website.
4. Canadian and U.S. habits regarding radio and Internet use are similar.
Perhaps the most striking similarity between Canadians and Americans is
again which time periods people in each country use the Internet.
Canadians Americans
6 a.m. - 10 a.m. 14% 14%
10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 21% 22%
3 p.m. - 7 p.m. 20% 21%
7 p.m. - Midnight 40% 40%
Midnight - 6 a.m. 2% 3%
Again, if we ask Canadians or Americans, "Have you ever visited a radio
website?" or "How do you feel about local radio?" or if we look at which
demographic groups tend to be on-line radio listeners all of these answers
are very similar. However, there is one notable exception between Canadians
and Americans and that is what stations each group is listening to on-line.
Canadians listen to far more stations from other countries than Americans
do. When asked, "Which stations do you listen to most on-line?" 33% of
Canadians said they listened to stations from other countries the most,
compared to only 7% of Americans.
5. People who have visited a radio station website behave differently and
have different attitudes than people who have never visited a radio station
website.
People who visit radio websites are more likely to shop on-line for example.
These people who visit radio websites also tend to want different things
from a radio website and what they want tends to be more in-line with what
people want in conventional on-air radio such as concert information,
weather reports and community information. They simply want this information
with the immediacy and convenience that the Internet can provide.
6. What people want most in a radio website is a website that is easy to
connect to and easy to navigate.
We asked people what they wanted in a radio website. Anything from the
ability to contact on-air personalities to traffic reports. Ironically what
people said they wanted most was a radio website that is easy to connect to
(55%). 53% said they wanted a website that is easy to navigate. Neither of
these items has anything to do with the content of a website but rather to
do with website design.
7. Most people recall a radio station talking about its website on the air.
Overall 70% of people recall a radio station talking about its website on
the air. Of these, 42% have visited a radio station website. Of the other
30% that do not recall, only 14% have ever visited a radio station website.
Sent To: Don Currie , Ky Joseph ,
Robin Glenny , John Lamers ,
Steve Rae , Dan Miller ,
Mack Frizzell , Paul Osborne ,
Garry McColman , Simon Constam ,
Peter Jackman , Don Kille ,
Lyle Walsh , Gary Fitz ,
Gary Adams , Terry Babiy ,
bob@1015thehawk.com, Dennis Gerein ,
Al Kingdon , Pearl Kwan ,
Richard LeBrun ,
Brenda Levesque ,
Craig Mills ,
John K Muir , Diana Parker ,
Greg Phelps , pmason@big105.fm,
James Robinson , Rui Da Silva ,
Jack Simmons , Chris Talbot ,
Dave Walker , whulme@inorth.on.ca,
Gord Wilkinson , Doug Zackodnik